the profession or art of a writer; "her place in literature is secure"
the humanistic study of a body of literature; "he took a course in Russian lit"
creative writing of recognized artistic value
published writings in a particular style on a particular subject; "the technical literature"; "one aspect of Waterloo has not yet been treated in the literature"
based on custom rather than documentation; "an unwritten law"; "rites...so ancient that they well might have had their unwritten origins in Aurignacian times"- J.L.T.C.Spence